Thursday Overnights: CBS Rules With Regularly Scheduled Line-Up

The Eye Net's 'Young Sheldon' is the Standout

Note: The CBS affiliates in New York and Buffalo preempted the network’s regularly scheduled programming line-up for the Buffalo Bills-New York Jets NFL game airing on NFLN. All programming normally featured on WCBS was seen on WLNY.

-Ratings Breakdown:
CBS stood well above the competition care of the launch of its regularly scheduled Thursday night programming block. The big news was the time period premiere of “Young Sheldon,” which at a dominant 8.2 rating/13 share in the household overnights at 8:30 p.m. held 93 percent of its “The Big Bang Theory” lead-in (#1 for the night: 8.8/16 at 8 p.m.). Comparably, that was a hefty 61 percent above year-ago time period occupant “The Great Indoors” (5.1/ 8 on 11/03/16). No other series historically has maintained this much of “The Big Bang” lead-in.

With stronger lead-in support, CBS comedy “Mom” opened season five at a 5.5/ 9 (#1) in the 9 p.m. half hour, which was 17 percent above the 4.7/ 7 one year earlier. “Mom” led into an also dominant 4.4/ 7 for the season three premiere of “Life in Pieces” at 9:30 p.m.

In series-premiere news, CBS crime solver “S.W.A.T.,” a revival of the ABC series of the same name in the 1970s, opened with a first-place 4.7/ 8 at 10 p.m. Comparably, that was seven percent above lead-in “Life in Pieces.” It bested competing “Chicago Fire” on NBC (#2: 3.8/ 7) and “How to Get Away With Murder” on ABC (#3: 2.8/ 5) by 24 percent and 68 percent, respectively. And it was 31 percent above year-ago time period occupant “Pure Genius” (3.6/ 6 on 11/03/16). In other words, consider this positive sampling for “S.W.A.T.”

On NBC, sitcoms “Superstore” (#3: 2.3/ 4) and “The Good Place” (#3: 2.2/ 4) could not compete with aforementioned “The Big Bang Theory” and “Young Sheldon” on CBS. But “Will & Grace,” featuring the passing of the beloved Rosario character, perked up to a second-place 4.2/ 7 in the 9 p.m. half-hour. Sidenote: Shelley Morrison, who played Rosario, is alive and well and decided not to return to “Will & Grace.” For my thoughts on “Will & Grace,” click here

Airing out of “Will & Grace” was sophomore “Great News,” which slipped to a fourth-place 1.9/ 3 at 9:30 p.m. and needs to be replaced. Note: Next week, football begins its Thursday night run on NBC.

Marc Berman has been writing professionally since 1999 and is the author of weekly column “Mr. Television” for Campaign US (www.campaignlive.com). Most recently, Berman was the creator and Editor-in-Chief of website and newsletter TV Media Insights for Cross MediaWorks. From 1999-2011, he was the Senior Editor for Mediaweek and has also written for The New York Daily News, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Emmy Magazine, among others. Berman has also appeared on “Entertainment Tonight,” “Extra,” “Access Hollywood,” “Inside Edition,” “The CBS Evening News,” E!, CNN, CNBC, Fox News and MSNBC.